Slow Burn
by VmarsSA
Summary: A night at the Old Haunt ignites Kate's burning need for Castle.   Set in Season 3, just after episode 3x22. No spoilers involved.


**Authors Note: **

**Slightly AU, this story explores the building need that Kate has for Castle.**

**I didn't have a Beta on this one, I tried to get someone but I didn't win, so any mistakes are my own.  
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**Disclaimer: I do in fact own Castle (in an alternate reality of my own imagination) **

A fire is something that's difficult to stop, once started it takes on a life of its own. They can be dangerous yet full of beauty. Kate had always been fascinated by them…

Kate scanned the dimly lit room, feeling the dull throb of the music around her. She'd been there all of ten minutes when he'd walked up to her and slipped his arm around her waist.

"_Hey beautiful_" he whispered into her ear causing her to involuntarily shiver.

"_Hey_" she'd smiled politely back with the kind of smile you afford your grandmother and not your ridiculously good looking cardiac surgeon of a boyfriend.

If she was honest with herself he was a walking cliché; tall, dark, handsome, doctor. If she was _really_ honest with herself she would admit that she'd grown tired of cliché a long time ago. Kate wanted extraordinary and she wanted it in the shape of one Richard Castle.

So here she was scanning his bar with her walking cliché attached to her side praying he would be there.

"_You want a drink_?" she asked sliding expertly out from under his hold.

"_Sure, a beer's good_" he replied flashing her the kind of smile that orthodontist's dream of.

Kate smiled tightly and let out a small sigh as she turned her back on him. She made her way over to the bar pushing through the crowds and placing herself firmly against the slightly sticky wooden counter. She glanced down at it for a moment and smiled as she remembered Castle's need to save this old place for future generations. She placed her finger in a small pot mark in the wood and idly wondered how long it had been there and who made it. Lost in her thoughts Kate jumped slightly at the sound of Castle's voice tickling her right ear.

"_If only these old walls could talk_." He spoke above a whisper just loud enough to be heard over the music.

She could feel the heat of him radiating behind her and the urge to lean back into his hard body was overwhelming. She gripped the bar and closed her eyes.

They had been playing a very dangerous game the last few weeks but neither of them were willing to admit just how dangerous. It usually started with a small touch in the morning, his hand would brush hers or she would make a point of squeezing past him on her way to the bathroom.

The effect he had on her was intoxicating and she couldn't seem to control the constant need in her to touch him, to be surrounded by him. She knew how wrong it was, even now with Josh only a few feet away laughing with her friends, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

He had ignited something in her the day he kissed her and she tried to stamp it out, Lord knows she tried so hard, but it was like a raging wildfire. No matter how hard she tried to starve it of air it kept growing until she was the one who felt starved.

Kate slowly turned around, facing the man who seemed to be everywhere, his smell, heat, touch, radiated all around her.

"_If only_…" she said, her words loaded with more than casual conversation.

"So _Kate_" he smiled, reaching his hand down to lightly grab her wrist and his fingers began running small circles on the inside of her arm. She was certain he could feel her pulse triple in speed, " _how was the rest of your afternoon without me?_"

"_Oh you know_" she shrugged making eye contact with him and trying her very best not to betray how incredibly turned on she was, "_the usual, a murder leads to a CIA cover up about aliens, you really should have been there, definitely your flavour._" She winked at him.

Castle laughed with a deep chuckle that sent a shot down her spine.

"_Sounds like I missed a lot, damn Paula and her book_ _signings._" He drawled, his fingers still working at slowly driving her insane.

They stood there for a few moments; eye's locked, as Kate started weighing up the pros and cons of jumping him in the middle of his bar. Con, Josh would see and freak out. Pro, she would have jumped Richard freaking Castle and, at this point, she's fairly certain it would be worth the drama.

Somewhere behind them, the barman cleared his throat, "_Mr Castle, anything for you two?_"

Castle's eyes stayed on hers a few seconds longer before changing focus, "_Sure Jimmy, make it a scotch for myself and Kate, oh and a beer for her friend there_"

Kate smiled at the fact that he instinctively knew she felt like something real to drink tonight but in the same breath she deflated a little when she realised that Castle had noticed Josh with the others.

"_Yeah, he kind of called me last minute and caught me off guard._" she mumbled noticing the keen absence of his hands on her wrists as he reached for their drinks on the counter.

"_So how is Doctor Motorcycle boy anyway?_" Castle asked handing her the amber liquid before sipping some of his own.

"_He's fine I suppose…_" Kate replied, taking a sip of her drink and closing her eyes as the scotch warmed her throat.

"_Don't sound too excited Kate; you're giving yourself away there_." Castle smiled, but she recognized the flash of hurt behind it.

She has been trying for a while to break it off with Josh but both of their schedules were just so hectic and somehow it didn't seem right to do it over the phone.

So here she was stuck in a bar with only a few centimeters separating her from Richard Castle, but in looking over Rick's shoulder at Josh, those few centimeters turned into miles.

Kate sighed staring absently over Castle shoulder. A second later her eyes flew back to his as she suddenly felt his weight sandwiching her between himself and the bar.

Some really drunk frat boy slapped him on the shoulder, barely able to stand "_Sorry man_" he slurred before limping away, too drunk to remember his own name.

Castle didn't even acknowledge him. His eyes, focused on Kate, had turned dark with desire. Kate could feel him pressed against her and she shifted slightly, enjoying the thrill and intimacy of the moment. Castle placed both hands on Kate's hips abruptly stilling her movements.

"_Kate, you need to stop moving right now_" he growled slightly at her.

She barely heard him, between the feel of him pressed up against her and the burn of his hands on her hips she was raging out of control.

She closed her eyes as Castle's thumbs started moving slowly on the skin between her shirt and jeans.

"_Rick, stop_" she half breathed out into the heat of the air surrounding them.

He smiled, "_What if I can't?_" He whispered in her ear leaning in as close to her as possible.

"_Kate, I need this…we need this. You're like a fire consuming me_."

Kate swallowed thickly as she heard Rick mirror her own feelings towards him.

She leant in slowly and placed her hands on his wrists. Her own thumbs began stroking his arms, mimicking his thumbs on her hips. In that intimate moment she was suddenly so thankful for the small amount of anonymity provided by all the people surrounding them at the bar.

"_It's over Rick_," she said as she felt him tense and his thumbs still their movement, "_Josh and I are over"_ she clarified, hating to see the look of confusion and betrayal on his face. In an instant it was replaced by a huge grin.

"_I'm ending it tonight, I can't keep ignoring_ this" she said as she gestured between them with her hand. "_I'm ready to dive in with you and give us a real chance. I need to dive in with you._"

She leant in, inch by inch, agonizingly slowly and placed a long, lingering kiss on his lips. She felt his tongue playing at her lips, asking for permission and she pulled back slightly breathless.

"_I want to do this right Rick, and if I start this here, with you, I'm not going to be able to stop_._ I'm need to end this thing with Josh first._"

She slid out from between him and the bar feeling his hands trail over her skin as she moved away until they fell limp at his side.

"_Kate_" he said, catching her wrist in his hand, "_will you be long_?" the longing in his eyes fueling the fire within her all over again.

"_Not if I can help it_" she replied placing her hand on his chest and slightly fingering his button, "_It's been too long already_."

She slowly walked away from him, hating to do so but she was ready for the moment when she could walk back to him fully, with no reservations.

Richard Castle was a fire, an all-consuming flame and she'd finally caught alight.


End file.
